Intellectual Assets

The depth and breadth of the company’s intellectual assets are among its strongest qualities. One valuable component of the company’s assets is the people that include world-renowned experts both from industry and academia.

The company founders, Dr. Nader Najafi, Dr. Ken Wise, and Dr. Khalil Najafi, are recognized world leaders in the highly-complex technical field of MEMS. These technical leaders combine 100+ years of continuous industry and academic hands-on-experience in producing working MEMS devices and integrated systems, particularly in the Bio-MEMS field. The founders have generated more than 500 technical publications. Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc has assembled a world-class team with diverse expertise that covers all of the required areas to commercialize high-performance, innovative medical products.

Active Management Team

Nader Najafi, Ph.D, President and CEO. Dr. Nader Najafi, a founder of ISS, has served as President and CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors since the company’s inception. Prior to founding ISS, Dr. Najafi worked at IBM and was member of Project Technical Advisory Board (PTAB) of SEMATECH sensor/Actuator Sensor Bus Project. He has authored 9 issued and 20+ pending patents, and over 55 publications, including 3 book chapters, as well as many technical presentations. He was the first elected Chairman of Industrial Advisory Board, NSF Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems at the University of Michigan. Nader is also actively involved in many local and national activities, including an invited member of 2003 Selection Committee (Blue Ribbon) panel for the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (NSF-ERC) program, a member of the Advisory Board for the Michigan Small Tech Association (MISTA), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Microsystems Alliance. Nader was also cofounder and president of non-profit organization Michigan High-Tech CEO Alliance (MicHTeC). Dr. Najafi has a PhD and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Nahed M. Mohsen, Ph.D, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Dr. Nahed Mohsen, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, has been a member of ISS since 2012 bringing over a 25 years of medical product development and regulatory experience. Her main area of expertise is in physical, chemical, and biological characterizations and analysis of polymer-based biomaterials. Dr. Mohsen has extensive experience in design, development, and optimization of drug-device product combinations for liquid, propellant-based and dry powder-based delivery systems and formulations. Prior to joining ISS, she was a regulatory and quality assurance consultant and served as an aerosol expert witness for medical devices and pharmaceutics litigation cases at Exponent, Inc. from 2007 to 2012. From 2006 to 2007, Dr. Mohsen was a Manager of Scientific Communication and Medical Writing at UnitedHealth Group. From 1996 to 2003, Dr. Mohsen held series of scientific and product development positions including Chief Scientist at Sheffield Pharmaceutical and Aeroquip Corporations. Dr. Mohsen received a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, a M.S. in Bioengineering, a M.S.IE in Industrial and Systems Engineering, a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. all from the University of Michigan. Dr. Mohsen holds 11 issued patents and over 40 publications and presentations.

Sonbol Massoud-Ansari, Vice President of Foundry Services. Sonbol Massoud-Ansari, Vice President of Foundry Services, has been a member of ISS’ technical team since 1996. Her main area of expertise is MEMS research and development, pressure sensor design, fabrication process design and development, as well as technologies for protection of microsensors in corrosive environments. From 2000 to 2002, Ms. Ansari headed the product development effort for ISS’ industrial pressure sensors, which was a multi-million dollar program for developing ultra-high vacuum pressure sensors for industrial applications. Starting in 1999, as Director of ISS’ foundry services and later on as Vice President of Foundry Services, Ms. Ansari conceived and developed ISS’ MEMS foundry services. She has been in charge of interfacing and collaborating with over 100 MEMS and Nanotechnology companies worldwide, for design, development and manufacturing of their MEMS products for a variety of applications including biomedical, optical, and aerospace. Ms. Ansari is also heading NanoGetters, Inc., a spinoff company of ISS, which provides customers with a proprietary NanoGetter material for use in a variety of MEMS applications. Ms. Ansari has an MS and BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, and holds 8 issued patents and over 20 publications.

Beginning with the patents that transferred from the University of Michigan with over 20 years of knowledge. Integrated Sensing Systems now has over 51 patents, over 20 additional applications on file, and a significant amount of manufacturing and technology know-how and trade secrets.